Essi Viding (PhD, FBA, FMedSci) is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London. Together with Professor Eamon McCrory, she co-directs the Developmental Risk and Resilience Unit there. The unit’s research focuses on investigating different developmental pathways to persistent antisocial behaviour, as well as the neurocognitive consequences of childhood maltreatment.

Professor Viding also has a broader interest in children and young people’s mental health. She chaired the Children and Young People’s Working Group for the UK Department of Health and Social care’s ten-year Framework for Mental Health Research (2016-2017) and is currently chairing UCL’s Children and Young People’s Mental Health Research Strategy implementation. Her ongoing research focuses on emotional and social mechanisms that contribute to risk of developing antisocial behaviour and mental health problems during adolescence, with the aim of improving prevention for at-risk young people.

Professor Viding is a Fellow of the British Academy, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and holds an adjunct faculty appointment at Yale University’s Child Study Centre. Her research has been recognised by a number of awards, including the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award and the British Academy Wiley-Blackwell Prize in Psychology.